Friday, October 31, 2008

Things We've Learned From Horror Films....

When it appears that you have killed the monster, NEVER check to see if it's really dead. It isn't.

If you find that your house is built upon or near a cemetery, was once a church that was used for black masses, had previous inhabitants who went mad or committed suicide or died in some horrible fashion, or had inhabitants who performed satanic practices in your house move immediately.

Never read a book of demon summoning aloud, even as a joke.

Do not search the basement, especially if the power has just gone out.

If your children speak to you in Latin or any other language which they should not know, or if they speak to you using a voice other than their own, shoot them immediately. It will save you a lot of grief in the long run. NOTE: It will probably take several rounds to kill them, so be prepared.

When you have the benefit of a group of people, NEVER pair off and go it alone.

As a general rule, don't solve puzzles that open portals to Hell.

If you're searching for something that caused a noise and find out that it's just the cat, leave the room immediately if you value your life.

If you find a town that looks deserted, it's probably for a reason. Take the hint and leave NOW!!

Don't fool with recombinant DNA technology unless you're sure you know what you are doing. Even then, don't do it.

If you're running from the monster, expect to trip or fall down at least twice, more if you are of a female. Even though you may be faster than the monster, you can be sure that it WILL catch you.

If your friends suddenly begin to exhibit uncharacteristic behavior such as hissing, fascination for blood, glowing eyes, increasing hairiness, and so on, get away from them as fast as possible.

Stay away from certain geographical locations, some of which are listed here: Amityville, Elm Street, Transylvania, Meskatonic University, Camp Crystal Lake, Haddonfield, Illinois, one gas station desert towns or any small town in Maine.

If your car runs out of gas at night, do not go to the nearby deserted-looking house to phone for help.

Beware of strangers bearing tools such as chainsaws, staple guns, hedge trimmers, electric carving knives, combines, lawnmowers, butane torches, soldering irons, or band saws. This is especially true if they are wearing a hockey mask or one made of human skin.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Joaquin Phoenix has decided to quit acting. Ok. Now he wants to be a singer. What? Who said he could sing? I watched him sing in his movie about Johnny Cash. He did a good job, not great but he did seem to channel Johnny Cash well enough.

So, this has been a passion of his for a long time. Some how I can't help but wonder how well this is going to work. One movie role does not a singer make. I wish him well, but I would rather he continue acting. Does he really think he can have a viable career singing? I hope he does not plan to make a lot of money doing this. He could end up another "one hit wonder". Of course if he chooses the "country music" style he may do a passable job. I've heard a lot of radio play for people who have, at least to me, questionable singing chops.

I will miss him in the movies. But I guess he is lucky that he can change jobs and start from scratch. Maybe he and "Joe, the plumber" can tour together. That would be an interesting tour. I guess Joe isn't making enough money under sinks. He says he will start singing too and plans to release his first CD in January. Only in America!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Sometimes it is hard to believe that we will soon be here in this place for three years. Thinking back to when we moved here I realize how much things change. I wonder how our ex- cross the walk neighbors are liking Alaska. Since they left with their little kids (and one on the way) and dog we got a new set of neighbors. They were ok, but just as we got used to them, they moved. Then the lady at the front of their building moved. Now we have two new neighbors. The ones across from us are young and have a toddler and three cats. The new lady at the front babysits 6 kids. After the hurricane, one of our neighbors up front moved and "Mr. Personality" and his wife had a baby girl.

I guess I am just getting old, I mean crabby. Well maybe both. Pam, the lady who babysits seems to be the one who knows everything about everyone in her building and then some. Want to know any thing, she knows it all. I guess I had forgotten how much noise kids make. The other day I had my patio door open and all I heard all day was screeching kids as a couple of them sat outside playing. I had to close the door. Too much noise. Well what can you expect when the buildings are so close together.

One of Pam's daughter's lives just down the street. Every day after school I have to walk through a mine field of bicycles and skateboards when her grandsons and their friends visit. Sometimes that does not make Daisy too happy cause she does not like to detour through the grass. And of course she still thinks anyone outside should immediately stop what they are doing and pay attention to her. I have to remind her about her business. Then she gets a little nervous and so do I when I see kids on skateboard racing around my car.

Our landlady finally showed up to look at the empty unit. She has yet to send anyone out to clean it so she can rent it. Then again she has never even looked at the unit or roof damaged during the hurricane. Wonder when we will get a new tenant? I actually like the parking lot a little empty. I still don't know why Mr. Personality doesn't move or fix his dead car. He's been using his father-in-law's for months.

At least our new neighbor with the toddler and three cats never let the cats out. This family is pretty quiet. He works at night and she works days. We rarely see them. I do know she did not like the smoke when Jimmy was grilling outside. Oh well.

For some reason it seems like our street is busier than it used to be. Frequently I have to change my schedule of Daisy's walks. Too many cars going by or too many people in the area. Distractions abound for Daisy. She took offense when she discovered Kayla was out on the patio. They traded verbal jabs the other day. I still wonder how Kayla and the new baby will get along.

Now I am curious about some street work on the street going into our subdivision. The other day I saw some guys surveying the area. Later I discovered some marking sticks in the yard going all the way into the fire station yard and beyond. These markers had R.O.W. (right of way) on them. Is that a clue? I wonder if the street is going to be widened. If they take the right of way our building and the fire station will lose most of the yard space. I guess time will tell. Maybe nothing will happen.

Then yesterday our neighbor who had gone out after all those kids left for the day came back from her errands. As she pulled into her parking lot, she hit the horn several times. Her younger grandkids came out to see what she wanted. Pam got out of the car followed by a medium sized dog. She had told me she was going to the pound to get one. My question is when is this dog going to get outside to do it's business? How is she going to exercise it? How will it get along with Kayla and Lady and Daisy.

A lot has changed here in three years. We really had thought this was going to be a quiet little part of the neighborhood. Things change. People move out or in. They bring new challenges and questions. It's just another adjustment of life, like it or not.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

It is 57 degrees now and we have really low humidity. Last night the temperatures went way down. We hit 40 degrees for our low this morning. We still haven't turned on the heater. I hate the way it is always hot upstairs and cold downstairs. But I guess I will check it out in a little while. It is a little chilly in here. Lady and Daisy keep looking for a sunny spot. It seems that every time I sit down in my chair, Lady begs to sit with me. Then she sits there shivering. Daisy seems to prefer the comforter on the couch. Now if she could just learn not to let it fall off. She likes to burrow under the blanket but sometimes it falls to the floor. Then she looks over at me. "Fix it."

I like the cooler weather. It is nice not to have to run the air conditioner or the heater. Around here the temperatures are getting cooler but then again Friday and Saturday should be back to running the ac as the temperatures are supposed to go back up to 80 again. But tonight should be interesting. All the weather guys are saying to expect a "cold" night tonight. Of course "cold" is a relative term. I know some people have already had snow. But for us, tonight may hit a record of 39 degrees. That's not cold to everybody but for us if the temperature hits or goes below 39, we will hit or break a record set in 1910. Break out the coats and gloves! We'll put the shorts back on this week-end.

I guess we might be making some chili this week-end. Let me re-phrase that. Jimmy will be making chili this week-end. At least that is what he has been talking about. It's a good thing I save containers cause when he makes chili he makes a lot of chili...

Now I have to wonder if the World Series game will be able to be completed. I heard it is supposed to rain again in Philly. Just when the Rays were doing better. Wonder what is going on in Bud's evil little mind?

Ok , now I have to get out of this corner and go warm up my hands and feet. That is if those two dogs who are currently giving me the eye don't want to go out. Too late, where's the leash?

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

A couple of days ago as I was cleaning the oven, I heard a noise inside the refrigerator. It was kind of a thunk. I did not really give it much thought. For the next couple of days I kept hearing it. While sitting in the living room, I heard thunks in the kitchen. What is that? I went to the kitchen. I stood there and waited. Nothing. I went back to the living room. Thunk, thunk. Back to the kitchen I went. I opened the refrigerator and stared in. Nothing. I closed the door. Thunk. Ok, now you are getting on my nerves. Again I opened the door and looked inside. What is making this noise? "You talking to me?"

I looked at all the shelves, and the drawers. What's up?. As I stood there looking at the bottles and cans. Nothing happened. Nothing in the drawers made any noise. I guess the cheese was sleeping. The container of biscuits was quiet. The leftovers sat still. Then, aha! I heard the thunk again. So now I had to investigate. In my best detective mode I narrowed the noise down to either the gallon jug of milk or the jug of tea. Of course neither was talking.

Then this morning I discovered which one was the guilty party. When I went into the kitchen to fix a bowl of cereal the thunk sound still haunted me. I ignored it as I poured my cereal into the bowl. Then I opened the refrigerator door to get out the milk. I took out the milk and put it on the counter while I reached into a drawer to get a spoon. As the milk sat on the counter, I heard it say "thunk". "Gotcha!" I thought. The nearly empty milk jug was talking to me. It continued to thunk to me until I poured the milk into my cereal. Well, at least now I know what made the noise. Now I wonder what it was trying to tell me. But it talks no more. As I emptied the jug of milk, the thunks were silenced. As a matter of fact, if it decides to talk again, only the garbage men will hear it. Hope it doesn't spook them. After all Halloween will be here soon.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

As I sit here hearing the stories of political gaffs and attacks for the millionth time, I had silly thought. What if no-one voted in any election? I know that is not going to happen but the thought of this is, well, a little "Twilight Zone"like. Just suppose that all local, state and national elections were held one day and no one voted. Would it be a reaction to all the speeches? Would it be a result of all the negativity? Let's face it the negative campaigns are every where, not just on the national stage.

I remember reading a story about the ancient Greeks. The story was about a Greek war and how the wives collectively decided to withhold sex until the warriors decided to stop fighting. That concept made me think of how we consider things in our lives. Kids throw tantrums sometimes. I remember I used to upset my mother by holding my breath when I was angry. Her pediatrician told her not to worry because I would just pass out and start breathing again.

Would people who did not vote make a difference or would the country just "pass out" and wake up and go on about it's business? How would the government run if no one voted for any one running for office? Somehow I just can't see government grinding to a stop. However, I have seen, in the past, when due to money problems, some government departments stopped functioning for a short amount of time.

Obviously this would not happen, but it does bring to mind how much influence we do or do not have on our elected officials. I know that we all get frustrated with the people we elect. They do what some of us want or they don't do what we want. We get mad and decide to "throw the bums out" and vote for a whole new group. The new group is really no better than the old group, despite the promises they made. I just wonder what all these people would do if no-one voted. Sometimes voters feel they are not being heard. If no-one voted, would they get the message?

Friday, October 17, 2008

I am glad the debates are over, now if I could just not have to see another attack ad. In eighteen days we'll elect the next President of the United States. Who ever we elect will not be perfect. Many times we elect officials only to discover that they can't do it all. No-one is perfect and we will all be happy or disappointed at some time during the next four years.

It is a little like watching our sports teams. We are rabid fans at the start of the season when so much is expected. I supported the Astros - well we know where they are. Come on Rays! So now I would like to see something different, say a team going from worst to first. So what do I say about the Texans? Uh, from so-so to so-so... Detroit wake up, you might win a game! Maybe. Then again, maybe the Texans will find some new ways to win, maybe.

Let's hope someone can figure out how to balance a budget. Hey, if you are giving money away, I'll take a few million. So we are going to spread the wealth and bailout everybody. Team USA is going to save us all by bailing us out of trouble. Did AIG not get the memo? Don't take your team on lavish trips after getting money from the Feds! You are not Jerry Jones. Now there is a team!Jerry keeps saying the Cowboys are great and Adam Jones will be good on the team. It's a good thing Jerry Jones and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell don't run this country.

I wonder if ticket sales to sports events have slowed. With the economy on shakey ground, buying some big ticket items has changed. On the other hand maybe the people with money will have to buy lower priced seats instead of the 50 yard line seats. I remember when President Bush advised us all to go shopping after 9/11. Did we over spend? AIG won't be using the luxury boxes at games.

For some of us, we'll look to the race to the World Series. That would be less stressing than watching the Presidental race. After all, in stressful times we go for "comfort" things. It is easier to yell at the tv when your team is doing well, or not. It is not quite the same when watching the tv during election night.

Since the Texas Longhorns are going to have to defend it's #1 ranking Saturday, I may have to go get some comfort food. Or maybe some lipstick. I understand that the cosmetic industry is doing well. Lipstick seems to be a big seller. Of course there are a lot of pigs out there. The Horns put a lot of lipstick on those Hogs when they beat them.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

We all watch our local news. We learn what happened while we were at work or while we slept. We see reporter at the sites of the stories. We are familiar with helicopters flying over car chases as the police try to grab criminals. We see car accidents or natural disasters. Almost every network channel in any large city has a news helicopter. I have often wondered how they manage to stay out of each others way while trying to cover a story. Almost every tv outlet's helicopter has had an accident. We have four major stations (ABC,NBC,CBS, Fox) who have helicopters and each of them has had accidents or crashes.

Yesterday I had the tv on to our ABC channel 13 as the 11:00 am news was on. There had been a shooting out in Montgomery county and the Channel 13 SkyEye 13 chopper along with a couple of other news stations was on the way to the scene. It never made it to the story. It became the story. As it flew over a wooded area while sending video to the station, it suddenly lost signal. Another channel's (KRIV Fox 26)helicopter was also covering the story and saw that Channel 13's chopper had crashed. They immediately called Channel 13 and sent them the video from their helicopter. Their video clearly showed the bits and pieces of what was once SkyEye 13. The pilot and reporter were both killed.

News reporting from helicopters is a quick way to get to a news scene. We all have come to expect to see the shots from above. I've even seen the choppers flying near where we live. We usually watch Channel 13 news so hearing the voice of the reporter as he covered traffic or accidents or other stories was a routine. We knew the voice.

John Downhower was the pilot and was well qualified. Dave Garrett was a good reporter who could take a breaking story and sort it out quickly and accurately. Sometimes the news hits too close to home, even for the news people.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Now that the Longhorns have won, after keeping me on edge all day, I decided to watch the Houston Texans to see if they could win against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. I was already stressed after the college game so I put on my new Texans t-shirt and hoped that they would win instead on finding new and inventive ways to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory. So it ended up in another frustrating game which they actually won. Now the Texans have one more victory than Detroit does. Some comfort that is, we play them in a couple of weeks.

My nerves are rattled enough, so why do I keep seeing the crowds at the candidates rallies getting more and more vocal. What is worse is that they are really getting angry and harsh. I actually saw part of a rally featuring Sarah Palin and could not believe that I heard a supporter yell "kill him" or "bomb him". "Him" being Obama, and Mrs. Palin was enjoying this. Or at least she seemed to. I find this very concerning that we are resorting to these kind of crowd comments. This does no good for either party. I saw the little lady whose back was to the audience try to tell Sen. McCain what Sen. Obama was. I was glad to see McCain take the microphone from her and retort her. I realize there is a lot of passion as well as the future of our nation at stake, but we don't need this. I was in high school when John Kennedy was killed. I don't want another President to die in office. It won't matter if it is death by age or violence. We, as a nation, are better than this current harmfull attitudes of some people.

People who espouse these mean, hurtfull calls are not patriots and are neither true Republicans or Democrats. They are haters who do not understand the goals of either McCain or Obama. They want to do the best for our country and the people. Rather than spew vile, they need to go to the ballot box. They also need to remember that no matter how much they don't like someone or some country- it could always be worse.

Now that I have calmed down, I am going to get off the soap box and go watch life's real dramas, the soap operas.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Well, it is that time of year again. Fall is here but it is not really chilly enough to put a log on the fire or even start a fire. It isn't even Halloween, yet. But it is that special week-end for college football fans in Texas and Oklahoma. It's time for the Red River Shoot Out also known as the Sooners vs Longhorns in Dallas. Every year it is one of the most anticipated college games of the season. Espn will be at the Cotton Bowl and ABC will broadcast the game nationally.

Some years it is just another game. Other years it is more. This is one of those "more" years. Oklahoma is the number one team in the college rankings and Texas is number five. National championship possibility is on the line. No pressure, right? Texas would love to knock the Sooners off the top spot in the national rankings. Don't let anyone tell you it is just another game. College football is big business, big money.

The team that wins this game could go a long way to the BCS championship bowl game in January. The loser, loses. Of course this year there are several teams who could say they have their sights on ending the season as the top team. After all Alabama is #2. If Oklahoma loses, the Crimson Tide could say they have the right to be ranked at the top. If Texas wins should they be on top? Well...Hook 'em Horns! Unless it ends up with Texas playing Alabama for the National Championship. Who will I pick then? We shall see.

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Beaches, homes, and jobs are in peril on Galveston Island. The topography of Galveston has been altered by Ike. Homes that weren't destroyed may end up being lost due to the erosion of the beach land. FEMA still does not have enough ability to help those on the island. Many residents are begging for trailers from FEMA so they will have somewhere to live while waiting to repair or replace their homes.

The fact that many jobs have been lost is an understatement. After all this is a tourist area. No tourists no money. Now the University of Texas Medical Branch(UTMB) at Galveston is facing some hard decisions. There are 2300 medical students and nursing students there. The medical school has been around since 1891, graduating over 28,000 doctors. The 700 bed John Sealy Hospital had 753,000 outpatient visits alone last year.

The hospital suffered significant damage. Just as the Houston Medical Center was severely damaged due to Tropical Storm Allison so is John Sealy. The medical center was devastated but has now made major changes which this year made a big difference is the safey of the hospitals, equipment and research. Now John Sealy Hospital will have to do the same. Year after year went by as John Sealy Hospital withstood the annual hurricane seasons. But this year it was hit hard with from 6 to 16 feet storm surge alone. Apparently now the hospital will reopen but with considerable changes. They will no longer have 700 beds. It will re-open at less than 1/3 it's capacity. This will mean more job losses. The UT system may or may not be able to afford the changes. The Mayor is not happy about the loss of jobs and the foot-dragging by FEMA.

So, let's let the powers that be in Washington continue to use our tax dollars to bail out others. I hope that UTMB takes some lessons from the Houston Medical Center and finds a way to made the repairs and changes to make the hospital rise again, wiser and better. And they probably won't all go for a spa visit.

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

It rained this morning, the first time since Ike blew through. A little thunder and lightening and some fast moving storms which ended quickly. I noticed that Daisy was a little concerned by the sounds of the falling rain. As I listened I heard an unmistakable sound of water dripping down the inside of the fireplace. Hum.. Well, at least it did not rain inside like it did to the unit in front. I still have not seen the landlady or any of her "repair" people. So much rain damaged "Mr. Personality's unit. His father in law helped put the chimney back and remove sheet rock, insulation and carpet.

There is another small storm brewing down near Mexico. It won't affect us. It is small compared to Ike. 84 of this new storm could fit into Ike. Child's play. I actually almost like the rain this morning. That is under the electricity went off, just for a couple of seconds, whew.

Poor Reliant Energy, they may have to look for an injection of money since the storm. Now there is a story on the news that they had a way to do something which would have avoided all the loss of power. Sounds like an investigation in the making.

Well at least after this morning's rain the front should push through leaving cooler, dryer air. Sounds good to me. The humidity around here is supposed to be good for the skin (don't ask me) but I would rather have a little less of it.

Monday, October 06, 2008

Houston Texans played their 100th football game Sunday. It was their first home game of the season thanks to Hurricane Ike. The roof of the stadium was open due to storm damage which totaled around $10 million. It was hot on the field. The Texans were hoping a win for the home town fans. It did at one point look like they would get their first win of the season. But in a strange turn of events, the 27 to 10 lead was destroyed in a few short minutes of mayhem. Sage Rosenfels tried to run and hurdle over the defense only to lose control of the ball allowing the Colts to run it back for a touchdown. In less than three minutes the colts were able to score two touchdowns quickly ending what should have been the Texans first win of the season. Instead there was a complete meltdown.

Lucky for me I was upstairs and out of the way of Jimmy. As I watched the game from the bedroom, I could hear him screaming at the tv. He was absolutely livid! All I could think of was what a stupid way to lose a game. The only nice thing was that all the Monday morning sports NFL people on ESPN did not blame Rosenfels for running but said he should have protected the ball better. Really?! Jeez.

We are supposed to go to the Ravens game which was rescheduled due to Ike on Nov. 9th. Now Jimmy doesn't want to go. But, to me that is a little "fair-weather fan" like. They can't lose them all, right? Uh, yes they could... Maybe this was just a bad day...maybe.

And then after the late news we here that Astros pitcher was involved in a fight at a wedding reception at a nightclub. Great, just what we don't need. The Astros front office does not look kindly at their players getting into fights. There have been some players who are now playing for other teams because of that.

Friday, October 03, 2008

I got my electric bill yesterday. I had heard news stories about customers getting larger than expected bills even though many of us had no power for days or weeks. I was a little surprised to see my bill a lot smaller than usual. Last month my bill was $233. The bill I got yesterday was for $106. There was a note on the bill saying that it was "estimated". Since the electric company was using all it's resources to repair, they were not reading meters. Hum. I am actually happy to have my bill lower. Of course I was without power for nine days. I won't complain since others were getting higher than expected bills. Now Reliant Energy is setting up a number for customers to call and 1. learn how to read their meter, and 2. get and adjustment on their bill. Me, I'll take the $106. Then again, will they raise the bill later to make up the difference? Maybe I should not give them any ideas. Ha!

I finally got through to Comcast cable. They had announced a plan to adjust next month's bills for those who lost cable due to Ike. I am not really expecting a big difference. But we shall see. Every little bit helps.

I finally plugged the freezer back in. One thing about having no power, there is a lot of time to clean out the refrigerator and freezer. My fridge is cleaner than it has been in a while. My poor freezer looks lonely with nothing in it now. But we are going to replace some of the stuff we could not save, mostly veggies and important things like ice cream. We are still debating about filling it with a lot of stuff. I know freezers work better when they are full, but we may not keep a lot in it until hurricane season is over. After losing a whole bag of french fries and some expensive fish and some home made chicken enchilada pie, we are going to take it easy on putting a lot in the freezer.

Thursday, October 02, 2008

So we the tax payers of this wonderful country are going to spend 700+billion dollars to bail out the dummies on Wall Street and Main Street. So much is made of who is rescuing whom. Wall Street has made some dumb moves. American lenders, including banks, have made some dumb moves. We fell for the sales pitch of the "snake oil salesmen". People were talked into loans they really could not afford. I remember when we were toying with the idea of trying to buy a house. We had some money and thought it might be a good idea. Of course we did not have very good credit. In looking into financing, I saw all sorts of lending possibilities. I discovered a lot of people were going for the ARM (Adjustable rate mortage) financing. I questioned the wisdom of these loans as did many "experts" in real estate finance. People who chose this type fo financing were told that the rates would go up later, but by then they would have increased their income, etc. No worry. Then the rates increased and these people were startled to discover they were not making enough income. Credit cards came in handy to fill in the gaps. Credit card companies were more than happy to up the credit limits. After all, the more money charged the more the credit card companies made in interest. Oops, flash forward, the money ran out.

This is just an oversimplification of some of the things that have gone wrong which has made it necessary to "rescue" our economy. I don't have any credit cards. I have frequently thought about getting one "just in case". But I never liked the interest rates. So, if I don't have the cash, I don't buy. But I guess, I'm in the minority. I remember years ago, my ex-father in law had several credit cards which all had credit insurance on them. He figured if he died they would be paid off. He did not worry about the monthly payments or credit limits. Now things are different. People are paying for groceries with credit cause they don't have enough money or may not even have a job. Now the banks don't want to lend money because there is already too much credit on the books. Banks borrow from other banks. Business borrows to stay to expand or pay employees, but then suddenly there is no work. No work, no income. Hum... Now what, we have bills to pay! What about my business, what about my home?

But we've been told by Washington that our economy is strong. Over and over, we have a strong economy. Our economy is so strong that the Senate and House are working on an economic rescue bill. 700 billion dollars said the House. Citizens screamed in anger. We don't want to bail out the Wall Street "fatcats". The House listened to people who called and emailed and rejected the bill. But we have to do something before we have an "economic Pearl Harbor" as this has been called. So the Senate says we'll come up with something more palatible. This one should pass and we know the House will pass it, too. Yeah. Let's rescue our economy... The Senate's version has some good plans but they added another 130 billion dollars to the 700 billion already proposed. They added incentives like six million dollars makers of kids wooden arrows. Huh?? Why? Also, they put in 192 million for rum producers in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. I like rum. I have some in my liquor cabinet. But why do these guys need extra money? And then there is 128 million for car racing tracks. What are they going to do with that? Are the race tracks going to be paved with gold? I guess arrow and rum producers are having a hard time. Maybe there are not enough kids practicing archery. And for sure those race tracks have to be kept in good condition. Those race cars don't come cheap. Fine choices for the use of my money.